I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 680 We are the rescuers invited by the Bukhara people
Thousands of Red Cavalry stopped more than a hundred meters in front of the west gate. The defenders climbed up the parapet and looked at the cavalry below, feeling indescribably proud.

You are late!
There is a lot of open space outside the city gate. Standing on the towering city wall, you can see dozens of miles away. No matter how fast your mounts run, they can't be as fast as us!
But what happened today?
When the Bukhara cavalry rushed over, why didn't the border sentry tower light up a smoke screen to send out a warning?

The Bukhara thieves were cunning and treacherous, and they must have attacked the sentry tower, but they finally failed in front of our west gate.

The defenders suddenly discovered that there was a group of red cavalry, about 3,000 in number, which had separated from the main force, bypassed the west gate, and headed towards the east gate along the south city wall.

My city is not big and is located at the entrance of a long and narrow valley, with only two gates, east and west.

When the defenders saw this scene, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

How could the Bukharans be so stupid! They didn't make it to the west gate, but they wanted to go around to the east gate?

It’s too late!

Don't you know that when the bell of the west gate rings, the east gate will immediately close and lock the door upon hearing the sound? My land is located at a strategic point, and has been fought over by several forces for hundreds of years. I still have some awareness and preparation for war.

You missed the opportunity at the west gate, and then you ran to the east gate panting. More than ten or twenty minutes had passed, and they were already ready to give you a delicious rejection!

The guards at the west gate pointed at the Bukharans below and laughed at their stupidity.

Still frightened, they laughed particularly happily and exaggeratedly, wishing they could use their cheerful laughter to dissipate the tension that had just made their hearts jump out of their throats.

The "Bukhara" Red Cavalry in front of the west gate was silent, like a silent forest.

Hundreds of flags fluttered in the wind, and the occasional neighing of horses sounded like the sudden cry of birds in the Tianshan forest.

This silence, which contained infinite power, gradually made the laughter of the soldiers guarding the west gate fade away.

They don't look like Bukharans!
The Bukhara people are actually the Uzbek Khans, just like the Andijan people. They are all tribal alliances in the Chu River Basin of the Golden Horde. Their leader is called Uzbek Khan, and they call themselves Uzbek Khans.

The History of Yuan Dynasty called it Yueji Bie Ren.

After the collapse of the Golden Horde, they migrated southward to Khashhar, Al-Angan, Samarkand, Bukhara and other places, where they lived together with the local people and gradually formed different ethnic groups.

They have the same religious beliefs, speak similar languages, have similar customs, and look the same, but they have not yet formed a unified concept of ethnicity and are divided according to where they live.

My people are from Gan, Bukharan and Samarkand.

The guards on the city wall looked at the Red Cavalry below the city and felt something was not right.

These people were neatly arranged in formation, and their military demeanor was as silent as a mountain. Unlike the Bukharans, a solemn and murderous aura quietly spread, as if they were a pack of wolves migrating from a distant grassland.

Mongol!
A word suddenly popped up in my mind, and I was so scared that my heart was trembling.

Impossible, how could they be Mongolians!

The lineage of the Yarkand Khan was a descendant of Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan. The main tribe was the Doholati, a branch of the Mongolian tribe in northern Mobei. They were granted fiefdom by Genghis Khan and were given to Chagatai, who then moved to the north and south routes of the Tianshan Mountains.

With the split of the Chagatai Khanate, the northern route of the Tianshan Mountains became the Yilibali tribal alliance, and part of the Doholati tribe moved south to the southern route of the Tianshan Mountains and the Hasihar area.

Over the course of hundreds of years, they gradually integrated with the local people and were no longer considered Mongolians, but became Yarkand people.

In the eyes of my people, the Yilibali people who insist on nomadic life in the Yile River area, with Yilibali (Yining) as their center, are not real Mongolians.

Because their customs and beliefs are almost the same as those of the Gan people and the Yarkand people, and there is no trace of the wild wolves on the grassland.

In my opinion, the real Mongolians are closest to Jinshan. There is a thousand miles of grassland in Yilibali between us. How could the Mongolians suddenly come here?

Did the Mongols invade the West again?

The stories passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors surged up from the bottom of my heart, and an inexplicable sense of fear rippled from the depths of my blood and quickly spread throughout my body.

Just as the soldiers guarding the west gate were panicking and at a loss, someone suddenly pointed to the east and shouted loudly.

"Look, why is there black smoke coming out of the East Gate?"

When they heard the sound, they turned around and saw a column of black smoke rising from the east gate, like a black spear, piercing the sky and piercing their hearts.

A ripple could be seen spreading from the east gate towards this side.

Scary screams and terrified cries echoed over and over, shaking the panicked hearts of the soldiers guarding the west gate.

What happened?

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Some could not help but turn their heads to look at the forest of Red Cavalry in front of the city gate. They stood still, as silent as a forest, in stark contrast to the growing chaos at the east gate.

got windy.

The wind blew from the northeast, bringing increasingly loud noises, as well as the smell of fire smoke and blood, which made people increasingly uneasy.

After ten minutes or so, hundreds or even thousands of people came running over from the city wall. They opened their mouths, cried and shouted, and ran towards this side with all their might. Most of them had no weapons in their hands, and no one knew where they had thrown them.

At this moment, they were like a group of extremely frightened sheep, covering their heads and running forward with the crowd. The narrow wall and horse path were crowded with them, and from time to time someone was pushed off the wall by his companions, screaming and falling to the ground.

What happened?

Fear blew like wind, enveloping the defenders of the west gate. They couldn't help but run around in panic, asking each other, trying to get the truth and find a place that made them feel safe.

Finally, I could see clearly that a team of cavalry, about a dozen riders, dressed in ordinary people's clothes, riding on war horses, were galloping on the bridleway along the city wall, following the panicked crowd and rushing up like a pack of hunting wolves.

The long knives they wielded flashed dazzlingly in the setting sun, like sharp wolf teeth that would bite through your chest in the next moment.

Behind the dozen or so riders, there were hundreds of soldiers. Some of them wore ordinary people’s clothes, and some wore light armor with red jackets, the same attire as the Red Riders who were standing silently in front of the west gate.

They held their swords and guns, held their breath, and rushed forward silently. From time to time, someone would draw his bow and shoot an arrow to knock down an unlucky guy in front of him.

Enemy attack!

The defenders of the west gate finally woke up from their confused state.

On the north and south walls of my city, there were scenes of three or four hundred people chasing and killing thousands of people almost at the same time. In the city surrounded and protected by the city wall, more and more black smoke appeared in the east direction, and the sound of panic was like waves, sweeping in layer by layer.

The sound of horse hooves in the distance was getting closer and closer, filling every street in the city. Red flags and cavalry were faintly visible among the layers of houses.

In front of them, thousands of soldiers and civilians were crying and fleeing. From time to time, some of them were knocked down by sabers, stabbed by spears, or shot by arrows, and fell to the ground, dead.

On the southern wall, the cavalryman who rushed in the front, wielding a long-handled sword, hacked left and right like a wild boar that had entered a vegetable garden. Broken limbs and bodies flew in the air like rotten vegetable leaves, and blood splattered everywhere like rain. Oh my god!

The Mongols are coming!
The Mongols on the grassland are coming again!

The defenders at the west gate scattered like countless wild bees from a burning hive, each fleeing for their lives. Some of the defenders turned their heads and looked towards the city wall as they fled.

Thousands of Red Riders were still standing there, still as quiet as the mountains and forests, as if the raging bloodbath here had nothing to do with them.

The contrast between extreme movement and extreme stillness made the defenders who saw this scene feel even colder and more devastated!
My God, only in a grassland as far away as a legend can such a monster appear!

Run away!

An hour later, the west gate of our city was slowly opened with a creaking sound. Huo Bian walked out first, stood in front of the door, and shouted: "General, I will fulfill my mission and capture our city!"

Huo Jing and Tian Le rode their horses closer and saw that Huo Bian's clothes were soaked with blood. The red color had long since turned black and solidified into blood clots, as if he was covered with a layer of creepy black armor.

The "black armor" was stained and covered with various unidentified objects.

Huo Bian pulled off the scarf on his head, revealing his short hair. He used the scarf with his right hand to wipe his face, which was covered in blood and stains. Finally, his appearance could be seen clearly.

"The envoy made a brilliant plan and deliberately attacked from the west gate, but he ordered me to lead the vanguard, disguised as a merchant caravan, sneak into the east gate, take the opportunity to attack, and seize the east gate.

With the timely support of the Yunchuan Second Cavalry Regiment, we not only controlled the East Gate, but also advanced from the north and south walls and the main streets in the city.
It was such a pleasure to kill them! But we, the distant relatives, are not that great! We are a million miles away from the Wala tribe."

Tian Le laughed loudly: "Deputy Envoy, you recognize them as distant relatives, but they no longer recognize you as relatives. They have lived here for too long and have come to think of themselves as wealthy and civilized people, not barbarians on the grassland. They have nothing to do with you anymore."

Huo Bian laughed, "That's right, since they don't recognize us as relatives, I can kill them with more pleasure."

Huo Jing smiled, raised his whip, and said to the main force behind him: "Enter the city, close the city and search, don't let anyone escape."

"Yes!"

Early the next morning, the east and west gates of my city were wide open, and hundreds of soldiers, civilians, pushing carts, carrying luggage, and bringing along the elderly and children, rushed out of the city gates in a panic.

In the panic, voices calling for father and mother, and for children and daughters rose and fell one after another. Families ran out of our city one after another and rushed towards the wilderness outside the city.

Some people couldn't help but turn their heads, and at first glance they saw more than 200 human heads hanging on the city gate tower. They were officials sent by Yarkand Khan to our city, as well as nobles in the city.

There were four or five hundred of them, and they were all slaughtered last night. Their heads were hung separately on the east and west gate towers.

The dusty head, the messy hair, the eyes that were still open, the slightly open mouth that looked like a black hole, the hideous face, each one looked so terrifying.

The reinforcements the Bukhara people invited were too fierce.

They tricked their way into our city, blocked the city gates, searched every house, and stole all the horses, camels, and weapons in the city.

All the officials and nobles were killed without even being given a chance to surrender. Their wealth, cattle, sheep, and grain, along with the "official treasury," were all "confiscated," and their families, including the elderly, the weak, women, and children, were driven out to mingle with the common people.

But all the people did not harm anyone, did not steal food or people, stayed at home and did not go out. If they went out, they would be breaking the curfew and would be put to death.

There were dozens of hooligans in the city who wanted to take advantage of the chaos and sneak out at night. They were all caught, tied to saddles by these vicious guys, and dragged back and forth on the streets of the city.

The dozens of guys who wanted to take advantage of the situation howled and screamed for half the night before gradually dying. The people in the city were also so frightened that they dared not sleep for the whole night.

Before dawn the next day, these soldiers, who claimed to be reinforcements invited by the Bukhara people, announced in the streets that everyone in the city must leave the city and not stay in the city. They can take their own property with them, and they will guarantee the safety of everyone's life and property.

If you stay in the city, there is no guarantee.

At first, dozens of families bravely piled their belongings on carts, pulled them with mules and donkeys, or pushed them themselves, and hurried out with their parents, wives and children.

These fierce reinforcements simply occupied the main roads in the streets and did not care about anything else.

Seeing these dozens of families leave the city safely, the rest of the residents packed up their belongings and hurriedly left the city, carrying the elderly and children with them.

By noon, thousands of citizens in the city were sitting scattered in the wilderness, ranging from a few to more than ten miles away from the city, panting and looking at the city in the distance.

Huo Jing sent people to patrol the city and found that there were still more than 40 households and more than 200 people hiding in their homes, refusing to leave.

He was too lazy to care about it. When the time came, he ordered fires to be set everywhere, and then left our city with the rear guard troops.

In just over ten minutes, the fires in various parts of my city gathered together to form a huge fire that towered into the sky. Huge black smoke rose into the sky and could be seen hundreds of miles away.

Thousands of people outside the city were either stunned or covering their faces and crying. A strong wind blew, bringing the sound of flames and mixed with shrill screams.

That was the last sound made by those who hid in the city and refused to come out.

Huo Jing led the rearguard troops and arrived at Akexi City, located on the north bank of the Huozhan River, dozens of miles away before dark.

After capturing our city of Gancheng yesterday, Huo Bian took a short rest and rushed to the vicinity of Akesi city with a cavalry regiment overnight. As soon as the city gate was opened at dawn, they rushed in and occupied this city which was smaller than our city of Gancheng.

Do the same thing.

All the officials sent by Yarkand Khan and the nobles of the city were beheaded, the people were all driven out of the city, and Aksi city was burned down to ruins.

Four days later, at night, at a place called Yasai at the eastern exit of the Fernakan Basin, a bonfire was lit in a valley. Huo Jing, Huo Bian and Tian Le sat around the bonfire, drinking tea and eating roasted lamb.

"It's a pity there is no wine! Good wine with roasted lamb is the most delicious thing in the world." Huo said with a hint of regret as he gnawed on a lamb's front leg.

Tian Le took a small knife and imitated Huo Jing, cutting a piece of meat from the roasted lamb on the rack over the fire.

When roasting, the lamb is brushed with salt water and oil, and sprinkled with cumin and other spice powders. It tastes particularly delicious, especially the chili powder in the secret spices, which further stimulates the taste buds. Combined with the aroma of oil and other spices, it almost makes it explode on the spot.

good to eat!

Tian Le chewed a few mouthfuls, swallowed it, and asked, "Chief Envoy, Deputy Envoy, what is the name of the plan we are implementing now?"

While biting the leg of lamb, Huo Bian gestured to Huo Jing, "You say."

"We call this wolf pack hunting."

"Oh, can you tell me more about it?"

(End of this chapter)